


Susan Harris, give me a sign!

by order_n_chaos



Category: Day6 (Band)
Genre: Comedy, Ghost Hunters, Ghosts, Halloween, Horror, Jae's scared and Younghyun comforts him, M/M, Rated T for language, Scary, but it's actually sweet, no one believes in ghosts except for Jae
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:22:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27307666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/order_n_chaos/pseuds/order_n_chaos
Summary: Younghyun shrugged Jae’s hand off with a frown on his lips. “Dude, you were with us when we got the offer. We’ll get two hundred bucks each if we do good and you wanted in after hearing that.”“That’s because I thought you guys were talking about busking and not a freaking ghost hunt! I’m broke, not suicidal!”“Please calm down,” Wonpil tugged Jae back into his seat and smiled warmly at him. Jae was about to cry at the worry in his eyes. After tonight, Wonpil was his only friend, that’s for sure. “We’ll make sure that the ghost won’t kill you.”Silence. Thunder struck again.“TURN AROUND, SUNGJIN, I’LL PAY YOU 200 BUCKS IF YOU DO!”~~~a.k.a Day6 go on a ghost hunt but Jae is scared of ghosts ft. baby girl Susan Harris
Relationships: Kang Younghyun | Young K/Park Jaehyung | Jae
Comments: 4
Kudos: 54





	Susan Harris, give me a sign!

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Halloween, guys! 🎃
> 
> I watched too many people (including Jae) playing Phasmophobia, so I guess that happened. And since today is Halloween, it's the right time to post it.
> 
> It's the first one shot that I finished in a while and I am proud of myself for that. It isn't the best work that I've written, but I tried and that's what counts for me. I have so many other fics in store that I want to get out and I still have another one that I have to update once I get to write the chapter - so I hope there's a bit more to come from me!
> 
> Please enjoy! (And forgive me any mistakes, I am so done with reading through my own writing after looking at my school work for one week straight.)

“Our father in heaven, please—”

Jae was crying. He was sitting in a closet, rocking himself back and forth in hopes of finding some comfort while tears left his eyes in cascades and his heart hammered against his chest at an alarmingly rate. He couldn’t finish his prayers, not with the sobs leaving his throat, but at least he had the crucifix clasped between his hands, his last line of defense.

Oh, Jae hated this. He felt like a child scared of the monsters under his bed, only that this wasn’t a monster under his bed but a ghost wandering around in the room where Jae was hiding in a closet. It’s for the money, they’d said, ghosts didn’t exist, he’d said. Screw them all, Jae thought, it’s their fault that he was in the situation.

But when the doors suddenly opened and light flooded into the closet, Jae really thought for a moment that he met his end. This was it, the moment he would take his last breath as some pathetic scaredy cat that cowered in a closet to hide from a ghost. What a way to depart from life. Maybe he could curse his friends from the afterlife, haunt them forever like the ghost in here. It’s not as if they deserved otherwise.

It’s all their fault anyway.

~~~

The van was shaking as it dashed through the streets. Rain pelted against the windows. Thunder struck in the dark sky. It’s dark outside, the clock had passed midnight hours before. Wind howled through the empty streets, the moon hiding behind the clouds.

Jae wished he could do as the moon, instead he sat in the van and pressed his head against the window, hoping he would get a chance to escape before they had reached their destination. What had he done in his past life to deserve this? He’d only asked if someone wanted to hang out tonight, not if they would take him to a ghost hunt.

A freaking ghost hunt!

“Oh my goodness… I hate you guys,” Jae mumbled against the window as a creepy building came up on the horizon. He then turned to watch his breath condensate on the window, a white wet film that clouded his sight. “Why are you—what did I do to deserve that?”

“No one forced you, you know?”

Jae slowly turned to the driver of the van. Sungjin sat there with a blank face, yet a small smirk laced his lips at Jae’s desperate pleas from the backseat. At least he didn’t laugh at him like Younghyun on the passenger seat or tried to soothe his worries with cuddles like Wonpil next to him. Jae pushed Wonpil away and leaned forward to plead with Sungjin to turn around.

“I am really freaking scared of ghosts and you guys know that!” Jae whined between Sungjin and Younghyun, the former wincing at the loudness while the latter smiled unbothered and turned his head to watch the building coming up in front of them.

“We’ve told you that we’re going on a job.”

Jae actually shrieked when Dowoon suddenly popped up from behind him and put his cold fingers against his neck. It earned Dowoon a deathly glare from Jae while the other four were laughing at Jae’s struggle.

Why, god, why was he friends with them? Those guys only made fun of him, like kicking an already wounded guy on the ground. When Jae said he was afraid of ghost he actually meant that he was really fucking scared of ghosts. He preferred to die rather than searching for a malicious spirit.

“Our father in heaven, hallowed be your name…” Wonpil looked over to him with a worried smile – at least one of them cared – as Jae clasped his hands and brought them to his lips while he spoke his prayer to god.

“You’re so dramatic.”

“I am not! You guys are insane!” Wonpil laughed heartily when Jae grabbed Younghyun’s shoulder for his utterly wrong comment and started shaking him. “What gave you the idea to play ghost busters?! Explain that to me!”

Younghyun shrugged Jae’s hand off with a frown on his lips. “Dude, you were with us when we got the offer. We’ll get two hundred bucks each if we do good and you wanted in after hearing that.”

“That’s because I thought you guys were talking about busking and not a freaking ghost hunt! I’m broke, not suicidal!”

“Please calm down,” Wonpil tugged Jae back into his seat and smiled warmly at him. Jae was about to cry at the worry in his eyes. After tonight, Wonpil was his only friend, that’s for sure. “We’ll make sure that the ghost won’t kill you.”

Silence.

Thunder struck once again.

“TURN AROUND, SUNGJIN, I’LL PAY YOU 200 BUCKS IF YOU DO!”

~~~

(Un)fortunately (for Jae), Sungjin got them safely to their destination. The van parked in the empty lot right in front of a big building that Jae stared at with distraught. One pebble laid next to another, small stones that had once been part of the wall surrounding the old two-floor building. The yellow exterior façade was covered in moss, rusty metal poked out here and there. Windows were smashed in and did not much to keep the rain outside, the metal fence door creaked in the wind. Right above it was an old sign that hung from only one side. The moss covered most of the letters, but Jae didn’t need to read the name of that building to know what it was: the old asylum just outside of the city.

In the background thunder rumbled while his friends set up the computer and whiteboard for their job. Jae sat alone in the front, frozen in his spot as his body trembled and his eyes couldn’t tear themselves from the building. There was no way that he would walk into that cursed asylum and look for a ghost.

Had he already mentioned that he was really scared of them?

“What am I doing here?” Jae whined in desperation and soon had his phone out to message his many friends. Maybe one of them would help. “Please, my best friends, help me~! They’re trying to kill—”

“If you don’t grab your equipment, you’ll die for sure.”

“JESUS CHRIST!”

How dared he laughing at Jae’s weak heart? Younghyun was the devil's pawn, Jae was sure. No one else would scare him and then laugh at his misery after he jumped onto the middle console while clutching his chest to protect his heart.

“How can you laugh at me in this situation?”

“How can you not?” Younghyun cocked his head while he reached his hand out for help. Jae pursed his lips as he considered whether Younghyun was joking or not, but eventually took him up on that. “You joke about everything else because that’s how you deal with things.”

“I’m not always joking,” Jae huffed in concentration. Getting off that middle console was a very hard thing to do with limbs that were shaking and a heart that wanted to leap out of his chest. “I am very serious about many things in my life.”

“You laughed at Wonpil slipping on snow and nearly crushing his arm last winter.”

“Because he didn’t stop slipping!” Younghyun only raised his eyebrow in a tell that Jae’s laughter hadn’t been very appreciated in that situation. He got it, okay, friends getting hurt was never a good thing and if Wonpil had been hurt, then would have stopped immediately. “But Briaaa~n—”

“Younghyun.”

“—maybe we let the others go into the building and stay in the van, okay?” Maybe if he fluttered his eyelashes Younghyun would wait with him here. It was a win-win situation; Jae didn’t have to enter the ghost mansion and Younghyun didn’t have to move a finger but still got 200 dollars for it. “Think about it, we can chill here and sleep a bit—”

“You can stay here alone, but I’m going. I don’t know what you’re so scared of—”

“Ghosts.”

“Because ghosts don’t exist.”

Huh. Wait a minute. Did he really say that? Did Jae really hear Younghyun denying the existence of ghosts? Younghyun, ghost hunter by night, making money out of ghost hunts?

“Look, stay here if you want or come with us. But don’t you ever complain to us again that you’re broke, alright?”

~~~

Well, the thing was… Jae liked complaining about money—or the lack thereof. That’s how he ended up in the back of the van, getting briefed on the mission by Sungjin, all while Wonpil meticulously wrote the tasks on the whiteboard, Dowoon connected the video camera’s signal to the computer and Younghyun checked all the strange devices they would use.

Sungjin read the mail the mail from his phone, and Jae thought he deserved an Oscar for the drama he involuntarily put into his voice. “The ghost’s name is Susan Harris. She was a patient here in 1967 when the asylum was still in operation. Unfortunately, a fire killed her along with some other patients. What followed were mysterious things happening such as objects that suddenly moved, flickering light and dirty water in the sinks. Some people even claimed that they’d seen the ghost.”

Jae swallowed thickly as he listened too attentively to Susan Harris’s story. His knees trembled hard enough that Jae had to lean against the car’s wall. He chuckled under his breath in disbelief that he was actually doing it.

“Why now?” Dowoon suddenly interrupted Sungjin’s story. “If the ghost had already troubled people over forty years ago, why would they hire a ghost hunter now?”

“The asylum was abandoned after the fire and only the fire investigators were in and out there then. I guess, they didn’t care enough back then?” Sungjin shrugged his shoulders. Jae wished they still wouldn’t care about it. “But now the ghost haunting committee—” There was a committee for that? “—wanted to look into it and posted an ad for ghost hunters.”

“More for people with death wishes,” Jae huffed and earned a glare by Sungjin. “What? It’s true. I wouldn’t get near that murder trap on free will.”

Sungjin only shook his head and picked up his phone again. Jae huffed indignantly as he got ignored by him again in favor of reading the rest of the briefing.

“To successfully finish the job we have to first, identify what kind of ghost Susan Harris is; second, take a picture of said ghost; if possible, take a picture of dirty water in a sink; and lastly, talk to the ghost. Susan Harris is a shy but active ghost, please proceed with caution.”

Had Jae already said how much he didn’t want to do this? Take a picture of dirty water in the sink, okay, he could do that, but talking to the ghost, possibly even taking a freaking picture of it?! Guess who wouldn’t volunteer for the camera, huh?

Jae bit his tongue to not let any comment slip by because as much as he wanted to wail and nag about that insane story, maybe he shouldn’t annoy his teammates any more than he already had. They were the only ones who could protect him when—if they found dear Susan.

“I’ll take the camera,” Younghyun volunteered and Jae wanted to kiss him for that. Yet, when Younghyun turned to him with a certain glint in his eyes and his lips rising to a mischievous smirk, Jae’s heart fell down right between his knees. “I think Jae should take the spirit box.”

“The spirit… what?”

“Perfect,” Wonpil shouted over Jae’s quiet question while he reached for a strange colored device. “I’ll take the EMF reader and some of that salt with me in case we have a level 5 ghost interaction.”

“Wait, what’s the—”

“I wanna do temperatures,” Dowoon yelled from the other side of the van where he attached a flashlight to his jacket. “My jacket’s thick enough to protect me from sudden freezing temperatures.”

“Can someone tell—”

“Good, I’ll place the night vision camera und ghost writing book as soon as you guys find the room,” Sungjin nodded to himself as he, too, started to pack his bag and attached the flashlight to his shoulder strap. “Hopefully, we’ll film some Ghost Orbs.”

“Please, can someone—”

“I’ll take care of the UV-light. Maybe we’ll uncover some fingerprints.” Even Younghyun, the one who suggested initially what Jae should be doing, ignored all of his pitiful tries to get anyone’s attention. What the hell was a spirit box?!

“HEY!” Jae hadn’t meant to yell at them that loudly, but at least they all whipped their heads to him and finally listened to his question. “Can you guys finally tell me what a ‘spirit box’ is?”

“It’s some kind of radio. You talk to the ghost with it.”

What did Jae do in his last life that he deserved this? That he had to go through this painful experience, all because of some financial problems? Was there any god out there who had some mercy with him? Nope, apparently not because he could hear Younghyun’s chuckle when Jae was gaping at Wonpil’s simple answer.

“You’re kidding me,” Jae whispered into the van. Just then, it was like a spell was broken between his teammates as they soon started to shuffle around again, one after another putting things into Jae’s soon overflowing hands; from flashlights (yes, multiple) to walkie-talkies and some strange radio (spirit box, that thing he had to use to talk to ghosts). At least he got some salt and smudge sticks as well because every child knew that ghosts hated those.

It was only then that Jae caught sight of something beautiful, his savior in a desperate situation, the only thing he needed to survive the night. Jae instantly threw everything to the ground, he even pushed Younghyun away from the shelves just to get to his single piece of hope in form of a crucifix that he pulled into his chest in some kind of deep hug, like a mother who had found her long-lost child. He would cry if he were alone.

“I will never let go of you,” he whispered to the crucifix as he glided his fingers along its edge softly, marveling at the golden ornaments and beautiful stones embedded into the dark wood. Not only a simple crucifix, but one of the most beautiful that Jae had ever seen.

(Behind him, his friends were staring at Jae’s back as if he was a man deprived of his sanity, not unlike a certain disgraced figure with an unhealthy obsession with a golden ring that bore too much power. They all looked at each other in some form of silent communication, pointing fingers to the person next to them before they eventually decided to solve the problem in a much simpler way: rock paper scissors. Fortunately, four of them won, unfortunately, it was Younghyun who had lost and now pouted as the other’s swiftly took their things and left the van.)

With a deep sigh that grabbed Jae’s attention, Younghyun crouched down to be on eye-level with Jae who was already on his knees, a small smile on his lips as he tried to look more empathetic than he really felt. At least, that’s what Jae thought. “Let’s gear you up, alright?”

Three minutes later and Jae felt his shoulder packed with a heavy weight. Not because of the backpack as there was nothing in there except for his and Younghyun’s equipment, but because of Younghyun’s hands pressing the flashlight onto his shoulder again and again. Just in case, he said, we wouldn’t want you to lose your light, right? And Jae whole-heartedly agreed.

The hands stayed on his shoulders even when Jae was ready, but somehow Younghyun didn’t tear his gaze from his and smiled tightly lipped with some sort of pity in his eyes. Just what Jae needed.

“Okay, look—” That’s not a good way to start a pep-talk, Jae nearly retorted who actually stood perfectly still when Younghyun’s thumbs lightly caressed the skin on his neck. “We’ll go in there and search for any ghost signs. Your task is to walk from room to room and use the spirit box to call for the ghost.” Before Jae could pit into Younghyun’s explanation with any remark whatsoever, Younghyun continued to talk over him. “Susan Harris, okay? Don’t forget her name. You only have to call her name and say, ‘Give me a sign.’ Repeat after me, ‘Susan Harris, give me a sign.’ Understood?”

Jae nodded, then repeated the sentence in tiny font. Younghyun smiled proudly at Jae, a prettier sight than his fake-comfort smile.

“Unfortunately, Susan is a shy ghost which means she won’t show herself if we approach her in a group. We will mostly split, but…” Younghyun suddenly averted his eyes and bit hesitantly on his lip, but then he fixed his eyes on Jae again with a smile that had Jae frozen for a moment. “Just stick with me if you’re scared, alright?”

It was heartful gesture, one that Jae was very thankful for. And if he had learned one thing from knowing Kang Younghyun for so long, then that you should appreciate every offer with a nice ‘thank you’. So, Jae opened his mouth to say exactly that, only that the van’s backdoor suddenly opened with a loud bang and made Younghyun trying to pull away from Jae while Jae jumped behind Younghyun, just in case.

“Sorry, _someone_ forgot the damn keys!” They watched Sungjin grabbing the keys from the table with big eyes as Dowoon suddenly skipped to the van out of breath and bowed again and again while muttering cruses over Sungjin’s exasperated chiding.

~~~

Was there any way to describe the place without getting the creeps out of it? Jae didn’t and it was good like that. It was so dark in there, even the small flashlight on his shoulder didn’t do much to light up the room. Jae proceeded with caution, every step was as small as the last one and never taken without checking before if the floor might cave in. At least in the beginning.

The first few minutes were actually okay. He heeded Younghyun’s advice and stuck with him, even went so far as to grasp his leather jacket at the back so he wouldn’t lose him. Younghyun only threw him a short glance but never said anything. Although, Jae did see the amused smile that Wonpil threw him.

The five of them had entered the building and looked through the first three rooms together before they eventually broke off, each of them venturing further into the asylum on their own, their communication limited to the walkie-talkie. Jae wished he would have the same courage, but he preferred to stick to Younghyun, though he let go of his jacket rather quickly.

It was silent in the asylum, eerily so. Jae had to duck often times because of the cobwebs hanging from the ceilings, and sometimes Younghyun pulled him away early enough that Jae didn’t step into some strange puddle or rat nest. It was moist and smelled musty. The lights in the rooms worked barely, but their flashlights did a good enough job. Windows were broken and shards laid around everywhere, broken mirrors and dirt on the walls, some parts are pitch black from the old fire. It looked more like some war had been fought in here instead of a fire devouring every room. Jae was curious about it until he remembered what Sungjin had said: the ghost liked to throw objects around.

Eventually they came to the point where Jae couldn’t bear the silence anymore. It was giving him the creeps, felt heavy against his lungs, and just didn’t feel right.

“So… is this your first ghost hunt?”

They were currently checking out a bathroom where Younghyun inspected every nook and cranny with his UV-light, even the ceramic bottles on the sink, whose water Younghyun had already inspected for dirt. Meanwhile, Jae was nearly breathing into his neck by how as he was to Younghyun, and he had a good reason for it. For the UV-light to work properly, they had to switch off every light source and Jae would be damned if he let Younghyun out of his reach.

It also gave him the opportunity to feel the younger getting scared for once. As soon as Jae’s words left his lips, Jae felt Younghyun jumping in his spot and the UV-light clattered to the ground. Maybe Younghyun wasn’t as unaffected as Jae believed him to be.

“Sorry,” Jae chuckled under his breath in triumph as he bent down to retrieve the UV-lamp for Younghyun. “Admit that you’re scared, Mister I don’t believe in ghosts.” When Jae shone with the light into Younghyun’s direction, he could see the deadpan expression on his face.

Younghyun teared the UV-light out of Jae’s hand. “No, it’s not my first ghost hunt. And no, I’m not scared.”

“But you jumped out of your skin,” Jae teased him and took a step closer now that Younghyun returned to his search for fingerprints. At least then he couldn’t see how quickly Jae’s smile fell as he gulped.

“Because you surprised me. Who knows, maybe an axe-murderer is hiding in here.”

Silence.

“…what?”

How hadn’t he thought of this possibility before? An axe-murderer could be hiding here indeed, and they all wandered into his hands willingly! Oh my god, they were dumb, they had sealed their own fate and destiny, what had they done?!

Just then, Jae nearly flinched again when he suddenly heard the low rumble of… laughter?

“Did you… You asshole!” Jae punched a laughing Younghyun against the arm again and again until he leaned against the arm in a wail. “Did you really have to do this?”

Jae’s pout only got bigger when Younghyun started to pat his head as if he was some dog. “You’re too easy to tease. Like I said, ghosts don’t exist and I’m one hundred percent sure of that.”

“How?”

“It’s not my first ghost hunt, right? And so far, I haven’t seen a ghost ever. It’s bad for the money, but 200 dollars still.”

It was nice, leaning against Younghyun like this and even having an excuse for it. Jae had always loved the way he smelled. His vanilla shampoo was out of this world, though Jae found Younghyun’s own scent calming. They never did such things as hugging or cuddling or anything else, they were just two friends who were very comfortable with each other.

Jae sniffed against his arm and then leaned back so that Younghyun and he could go back to their tasks at hand.

“Susan Harris, give me a sign,” Jae talked into his spirit box and waited with bated breath, one that escaped as soon as the radio showed him no reaction.

When Younghyun turned his flashlight on, Jae could breathe a bit easier. “We should move to another room,” the younger suggested and pointed to the door across the hallway. Jae only nodded in agreement and let Younghyun go first. Just when Younghyun passed Jae, he mumbled a small “thank you” that Younghyun hopefully caught on.

(He did. That’s why he was trying so hard not to smile brightly in face of the situation.)

Jae was about to set a foot out of the bathroom when he suddenly heard a soft clonk. His head whipped immediately to the sink where he watched the ceramic bottles, all of them standing inanimately. Maybe he only imagined the noise, maybe not, but better if he left the scene as fast as possible.

~~~

“Susan Harris, give me a sign.”

They’d been wandering around for twenty minutes now. Jae was getting more tired with every step he took. At first, he had only timidly called the ghost’s name, now, thought, he said it with not much enthusiasm and thin patience. There was no sign of her whatsoever, but then again, Jae was really glad about that.

“Susan Harris, babygirl, please—” he wailed into the empty room, shuddering at the echo that repeated his voice at least twice.

Younghyun’s short laughter was something much more enjoyable to listen to. “Babygirl?”

“What? Would you kill someone who compliments you?”

“Depends on the compliment.”

“C’mon, who doesn’t want to be called babygirl?” Younghyun only stared at him in a deadpan. Jae had to gear up his weapons. “Naw, Younghyunnie~ my babygirl!”

There was laughter spilling out of Jae’s throat when he detected the small smile on Younghyun’s disappointed expression. Especially so when it slowly melted into amusement.

Younghyun shook his head and put off his UV-light. “Careful there. We don’t want Susan to get jealous of me.”

“Oh, so you like to be called babygirl?” Jae nudged their shoulders together, smirking at Younghyun. He really basked in the way Younghyun’s eyebrows furrowed at the tease, yet his face showed the dimples that endeared Jae more than the twinkle in Younghyun’s eyes. “You wanna be my babygirl~?”

With a small grunt, Younghyun shoved Jae lightly away and turned his head away from him. “Search for the ghost, Jae.”

Albeit Jae had planned on doing so any way, it was their walkie talkies that interrupted their search once again. Jae jumped in his spot when his walkie talkie suddenly turned on with that static rustle. His hands automatically reached for Younghyun’s arm and his face found solace in Younghyun’s warm neck.

Only when Wonpil’s voice resounded through the otherwise empty and ghost-less room did Jae look up from Younghyun, his nose stroking Younghyun’s warming cheek. It felt soft, a bit squishy. Jae was very tempted to press his nose deeper into it. He slowly leaned into it, felt Younghyun taking a sharp breath, the skin was so plush and warm and Jae—

“Guys! I found the ghost room! We have a level 5 in here!”

Forget all about Younghyun’s cheek, the crevice of his neck was such a better place to hide his face. The rational side of his brain knew that it was only Wonpil’s voice from the walkie talkie, but it didn’t mean that Jae couldn’t be scared shitless nonetheless, because how else could you explain a voice out of thin air? Ghosts, right?

“Where are you?”

Jae slowly raised his head again after Sungjin’s voice faded into the silence and the only thing heard was Jae’s heavy breathing. His face felt warm from being hidden in Younghyun’s neck before. A really nice and safe place.

“Go to the upper floor, the room is right next to the stairwell.”

His arms slowly let go of Younghyun. Jae took a few steps away to give Younghyun a tiny bit more space. He cleared his throat in hopes of getting the awkwardness that lingered in the air away, yet before he could utter an apology or any other sentence, Younghyun fell him into the word.

“We—” His voice sounded hoarse and he had to clear his throat before he proceeded, “We should go there.”

Jae nodded in agreement, but neither of them took a step toward the door. Jae surely wouldn’t take the lead, he needed Younghyun to do that. The younger, however, stood frozen on his spot and Jae could see his fingers playing with the UV-light secured on his belt.

“Shall we go?” Jae suggested hesitantly and pointed at the door, albeit Younghyun didn’t even spare him a glance. His shaken smile slowly fell when Jae realized that maybe he’d overstepped his boundaries by jumping onto Younghyun like that.

“Younghyun—”

“Jae—”

Silence. At least Younghyun was now looking at him, something hesitant crossing his eyes who kept watching Jae with some intensity in them. Jae felt his mouth drying and his heart hammering in his chest, this time, though, not in fear but in something different. The air changed around them, something electrical clinging to them that made his fingers and knees jittery.

“I have to tell you—”

“I’m sorry.”

Again, they both started to talk at the same time. Jae blinked and Younghyun’s eyebrows furrowed more at Jae’s apology.

“Please go first,” Younghyun motioned for him, cocking his head as his lips thinned.

Jae scrambled hastily for the words that wanted to spill out of his lips. “I’m sorry. I hadn’t meant to jump at you like that, it’s just… I’m scared,” he whispered the last part as a confession, clutching his flashlight between his fingers tightly. “This here is freaking me out so much because I do believe that ghosts exist and that they have the ability to haunt and kill us. I don’t want to die because I annoyed some ghost, Younghyun.”

How much he wished that he were like Younghyun, fearless in the face of darkness and disregarding the possibility of ghosts’ existence. He was a chicken who couldn’t even enjoy some horror movies if they had ghosts, that’s how much he despised them. Jae really hoped that his honest feelings would reach something within Younghyun so that he would protect Jae a bit more, maybe even lead him out of here.

The silence felt heavy around them. Jae waited with bated breath for Younghyun to stop staring at him with those eyes that were filled with so much that Jae couldn’t get a grasp on. He only wanted him to finally say anything, even a joke would be nice. When he finally did open his mouth, beautiful lips forming the first letters of words that would decide on Jae’s fate, the walkie talkie suddenly turned on again and Jae withheld the urge to flinch, only experiencing a mild heart attack.

“Guys?! Something’s wrong. The EMF-level suddenly went down, but I am sure that I saw something!”

Wonpil sounded urgent, Jae would even go so far to describe his voice as disturbed and scared. Their heads whipped to the sound of a door suddenly closing behind them and Jae thought—

That’s it. They’re here. He’s going to die.

“Younghyun--!”

Not even a second later and Younghyun was tugging him away from the spot he’d been standing before because now there was a chair broken in many parts after someone had thrown it across the room. It took him some moments to realize that _someone had actually thrown a chair after him._

“Who’s there?!” Younghyun courageously took a step forward, shielding the taller with his broader body, but Jae tried his best to claps his hand onto Younghyun’s mouth in avoidance of the ghost’s anger.

“Susan’s going to find us if you yell like that!” Jae hissed as he pulled Younghyun back. He winded his arms around Younghyun’s chest, pulling him further and further into him. “Let’s just leave all—”

Suddenly, a loud clank made Jae jump apart from Younghyun. His head whipped to behind him from where the crash had come. Broken shards laid on the ground, gleaming in the little light that was left in the room.

“What—”

Younghyun couldn’t even finish his question when their lights started to flicker in a mysterious sign. The room’s light switched off all the sudden and all that was left was the scarce violet shine of the UV-lamp. Jae hastily scrambled to where he thought Younghyun would be, flinching when someone grabbed his wrist.

“It’s me, stop freaking out!”

“Of course, I am freaking out! Susan’s here!”

As if the light and the broken vases hadn’t been enough, what happened next surpassed Jae could have ever imagined as it happened within seconds. One moment Jae was trying to follow Younghyun to the door, the next their hands suddenly lost contact at the crash of a chair against Younghyun’s shoulder. Jae could hear the wood splitting against the doorframe, could hear Younghyun’s huff and yell in surprise, a dumb thumb against the ground where Younghyun crashed into.

Violet light shone directly into the younger’s face; the mimic contorted in pain. His skin looked so pail in the violet shine, sickly so. Jae stumbled to where Younghyun was resting on the ground, yet he would never arrive. The door closed in front of him, loudly so and with no logical explanation as to why. Except that it had been Susan herself who didn’t want Jae to leave.

“Younghyun!”

Jae shook and turned and tried to open the door, but the handle didn’t give way no matter what he did. Hence why he resorted to banging against the door, pleading for his friend on the other side to finally answer him. He needed to know if Younghyun was hurt or not and if he could get Jae out of here or not.

It was dark. It was silent. Jae’s pulse ran quick as his heart tried to escape through his mouth. His knees felt like pudding while his limbs were shaking hard. He was on the verge of tears, maybe his sight would have been blurry if hadn’t been so dark in here. His flashlight had been long abandoned in his haste to flee.

“Younghyun!”

Jae banged and banged. Without him, Jae would be lost. All on his own, fighting against a freaking ghost whom he had foolishly called babygirl. Maybe Susan was mad about that, maybe she had been a married woman in her lifetime and didn’t appreciate other guy’s flirting with her. He slowly sank down to his knees, hands clasped for the prayer that left his lips, asking for forgiveness and help.

“Jae?”

His eyes opened instantly.

“Younghyun?” He pressed his head against the door, his ear so close to the cold and moldy wood, yet Jae didn’t care at all.

“Are you okay?”

Jae sighed in relief when Younghyun sounded perfectly normal, maybe a bit shaken, but who wouldn’t be in his situation?”

“Are _you_ okay?” Jae fired back in worry. “It wasn’t me who was attacked by a chair.”

“I’m okay.” Jae’s eyebrows furrowed. “It’s only a scratch.” Jae knew when Younghyun was lying to him. Could hear it in his voice after knowing him for so long. It’s definitely not only a scratch.

Just when Jae was about to call him out on his lie as his worries took over in his mind, a sudden thumb against the door made Jae stumbling back and falling down on his ass. Then another one. It soon dawned on him what exactly was happening on the other side.

“Stop, you’re only hurting yourself even more,” Jae shouted through the door, brows furrowed as he thought of how much Younghyun’s shoulder must hurt by getting hit by a chair and then using the same shoulder to break the door. “Please, Younghyun.”

Instead of getting an answer, Jae heard a faint clink that was followed by a much louder sound. Then, silence.

“I think we have a different problem here.”

Oh, please, no, Jae didn’t need another problem. “What is it?” he asked warily, not sure if he wanted to know which ghost was haunting Younghyun on the other side now.

“The door’s broken. The handle came off when I tried to turn it.”

“Shit,” Jae cussed under his breath. So, there was no way that he could leave through this door. He slowly looked behind him in hopes of seeing anything, although with the room dunked into black, there was no way Jae was able to see.

But it was Younghyun who calmed him down again. “I remember from the map that there’s another door at the end of the room. Behind it is a stairwell that leads down to the ground floor. We’ll meet up there again, alright?” Yeah, sure, Jae would totally walk through a pitch-dark room as if there weren’t any ghosts floating around. Sounded like a solid plan, one that would certainly get Jae killed. “Can you do that for me, Jae? I promise, I will come to you as fast as I can.”

Only after a deep sigh and yielding to his cruel fate did Jae give Younghyun the answer he wanted to hear. He put his hand against the door for comfort, imagining with closed eyes that Younghyun was doing the same on the other side. “Please take care of yourself,” he whispered against the door, sure that his voice couldn’t be heard on the other side.

A deep inhale and Jae braced himself for what was to come, praying in his mind for the ghost to please leave him alone, thank you very much. When he heard Younghyun’s retreating steps, he slowly opened his eyes and a small smile clambered up on his lips.

At least his flashlight was working again.

~~~

“Susan Harris, please don’t kill me.”

It was his mantra for walking through the broad dark room. Jae whispered it again and again under his breath in hopes of getting on Susan’s good side. There hadn’t been a word or sight of her again, and Jae’s heart could rest in peace for a while. The silence was a welcomed companion, though Jae wished Younghyun back by his side again.

Jae only stopped when he arrived in front of a door that would hopefully lead him to the stairs that Younghyun had told him about. The handle felt cold under his freezing hand, the texture of cobwebs and dust made a shiver run along his spine. He slowly turned the knob, gulping at the loud noise echoing through the room.

Yet, what expected him wasn’t the sight of a stairwell to heaven but a small and beautifully furnished bedroom. It had the charm of a children’s room, maybe a young girl. Through the mold of the walls peaked a pastel pink colored wallpaper with blue ornaments, quite fitting to the white and blue furniture. It looked old, older than the asylum itself, as if built in a different part of the world. Pictures hung crooked on the wall, depicting forest and landside sceneries. Dollhouse, teddy bears, and many other plush animals were strewn all over the floor.

Jae made a full circle through the room, marveling at how intact it seemed to be compared to the other cold and concrete walled ones. There were no signs of fire at all, only time and nature had painted the room with their own touch. On a dresser Jae found a picture sitting, blanketed by a heavy layer of dust that Jae blew off. A pretty girl looked up to him, nearly smiling yet looking so tired with the rings under her eyes and a teddy bear clutched between her arms.

With a shake of his head Jae put the picture back to its place and made to leave the room again, when suddenly the door closed in front of him. Maybe it was only the wind, Jae tried to explain in his mind and hastily ran to the door to shake its handle. Nothing happened. Someone had trapped him in here.

“Hey!” Jae hammered against the door. “Is anyone there?!” Nothing. No sound. No word. No other human being. “Fuck!” The tremble hit him all at once. At the same time his heart started to run for its life, for Jae’s life. If this was the ghost, he would be—this would be—

He gasped for air. He needed to think, but he couldn’t. Fear was washing over him, and blood rushed through his ears. He felt like fainting, but adrenaline made him giddy. He wanted to flee, yet there was no escape in sight. This situation was hopeless.

A sudden clank behind him. His head whipped to the source, faster than the flashlight in his hands. Nothing there.

And then it came to him like a lightning.

Jae threw his backpack to the ground, its content spilling out with a blinding flash after the harsh fall to the floor. The spirit box started to whirr alive, a cackling noise that Jae somehow didn’t hear as his attention was solely fixed on the smudge sticks from his bag. He took all four of them, leaving the flashlight for the lighter on the floor, and lit up the sticks. Ghosts couldn’t attack him now, right?

Breathing felt easier again when his nose got a whiff of burnt grass coming from the smudge sticks. It’s only then that Jae noticed that one of them wasn’t burning, so he took his lighter again to make a fire and—

Another crash in front of him, a loud bang as a table that had been set for a tea party was thrown over by some invisible force. Jae’s eyes widened when the mirror against the wall shattered and vases fell down as if someone was raging in here. Not someone—the ghost, Jae realized. He let go of the smudge sticks and scrambled back until his back met the door, hyperventilating as one chair after another fell over. The light flickered again. A red dot blinked endlessly on the dresser. When a chair suddenly crashed into the wall next to him, Jae ducked his head and curled into himself to protect his head.

This was a nightmare. Jae was going to die. That was it. It was all his friends’ fault. Ghost hunting, yeah. They didn’t believe in ghosts? Well, tough shit but Jae currently had a ghost in front of him.

“I’m so sorry, please don’t hurt me,” Jae pleaded into his knees, actual tears running down his cheeks. “Please don’t hurt me, Susan. Please, I don’t wanna die.”

… _the…fire…_

Everything stilled. Silence except for the cackling of the radio. A noise that suddenly got interrupted by a mechanic voice.

_…the…fire…_

What did they call it again? A spirit box. To talk to ghosts, Wonpil had said. So, this meant that the ghost was talking to him. Through the radio. Susan was talking to him through the spirit box. Jae was currently talking to a ghost.

Reality was a cruel thing.

Jae slowly reached for the radio, holding his breath to not make any sound. He could hear his own heartbeat. Thump. Thump. Thump. The urge to swallow was difficult to suppress. He wanted to breathe, to calm down and just breathe. He slowly brought the radio to his lips, pressing the button to talk.

“S-Susan H-Harris?”

He waited for an answer with bated breath.

_…Turn off fire. Please._

His eyebrows furrowed as his ears ringed, panic mixing with confusion until his eyes fell onto the smudge sticks on the ground. Jae gasped when he finally realized what Susan was trying to tell him. He hastily lurched forward and put the fire out with his palm, ignoring the hot pain against his skin.

_…Thank you._

And it was silent again.

Jae fell back against the door, letting go of his breath and closing his eyes for a second. Peace for a second, a calm minute within this madness. As reality slowly trickled in, his hands grasped for his hair and Jae desperately tugged at them, giving in to the tears that wanted to flow so much.

“Fuck!” he cussed wetly, sobbing when it was enough. He was done with the day, he was done with everything. This was hell, his biggest nightmare, proven right that ghosts existed and then dying through their hands.

Jae nearly experienced a heart attack when the radio suddenly made a noise again and Susan asked him, _“Play with me.”_

“Fuck no!” Jae impulsively answered, regretting it immediately. His hands clasped against his mouth. His skin felt wet under his fingers, tears tasting salty against his tongue.

_“Play with me.”_

Klick and the door opened behind him all of the sudden, and Jae fell back as he had leant against this very door. His flashlight flickered alive again the same moment a vase flew right above Jae’s head. Susan wanted to play? Not with Jae, not when he could finally flee.

Jae jumped forward to get his flashlight, then in a genius moment he reached into his backpack to tug out the crucifix in hopes of getting Susan off his case. Now, just out of here!

Jae ran as fast as he could, not caring about where he was actually running to as long as it was far away from Susan. He could hear objects being thrown around, had doors closing in front of him as if he and Susan were playing tag or hide and seek, only that now Jae’s life was at stake.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Jae cursed under his breath again and again, thinking while he was running.

He ducked into another room and closed the door behind him, and then another and another until he got into a bedroom, this one simpler and colder furnished than the one he was in before. His heart nearly burst in happiness when he saw a closet standing against the wall and looking big enough for Jae to hide in. Susan couldn’t be that far anymore, so Jae quietly but quickly got into the closet, turned off the light and clutched the crucifix against his chest.

The only thing left to do was to pray and hope that someone would find him soon enough.

~~~

That’s how he got here, sitting in a closet, and rocking himself back and forth with the crucifix clutched against his chest, tears streaming down his face and a ghost raging outside. Except that it had long gone quiet outside the safety of his closet as the ghost had maybe given up on finding in Jae in the most obvious places someone could hide in. The prayer left his lips for the umpteenth time, once again broken by his own sobs, which was much better than being interrupted by a ghost hurling furniture against the wall.

If he escaped unscathed from here, Jae would hunt down his friends and send them to hell with his own hands. It would only be fair since this right here was Jae’s personal hell. His heart was about to jump out of his chest in fear, and he was hiding like a coward, but what else was he supposed to do?

The silence surrounding him made breathing a tad easier, raised his hopes that the ghost might have left. He was actually going to press his hand against the closet’s door to get a small glimpse of what was going on outside, but just when his palm touched the cold, wooden surface a sudden noise reached his ears and he instantly stilled.

Faint steps echoed through the room, getting louder and louder like Jae’s heartbeat, his pulse drowning out the dull noise outside. Another tear escaped his eye while he waited with his breath caught inside his chest and his limbs shaking hard. Ghosts didn’t walk, Jae tried to remind himself over and over again. It’s an axe-murderer, his hear whispered traitorously. A small whisper escaped his throat in fear and the steps stilled for a second.

Now he hated the silence. It didn’t last for long, though, not when the steps resounded again, only this time getting louder and coming closer with every panicked breath that Jae took. Tap, tap, and it stopped once again. Jae pressed his eyes close, curling into himself more to become as small as possible, enveloping the crucifix against his chest, clenching his teeth to not make any sound. Silent tears rolled down his cheeks, wetting the dark cloth of his pants.

The closet’s door creaked loudly when it was opened slowly, and light flooded in all the sudden. His ears were droning in fear. Only silence and light. Maybe an angel had mercy on him and came down to protect him, maybe Susan pitied him enough to leave him be. Instead, what made him slowly lift his head to look at what had opened the door was the one of his friend’s far away yell.

“Has anyone found Jae?”

Another tear slowly rolled down his cheek, a wet road that had been paved minutes ago, slowly going down, then along his throat until it reached his collarbone. His swollen eyes met sharp and deep ones that imprisoned them in their ban as if some sort of magic spell was laid upon them. They stared and stared at each other, no one daring to break that silent moment.

A moment still broken by movement from the other side of the room, footsteps once again, this time clearer. Only now did it dawn on Jae how he looked like, red eyes and a snotty nose, skin white as a sheet, a scared child hiding from a creature that his friends didn’t believe in. A blush quickly made its way onto his face, painting him red there and his ears as well. Yet, instead of laughter or mocking like Jae had expected, all that happened was Younghyun looking back over his shoulder before he moved into the closet, seating himself right next to Jae and closing the door once again. Jae followed his movements in wonder, his eyebrows furrowing and hoping to meet Younghyun’s eyes again, something that the younger denied him. Instead Jae suddenly had an arm around his shoulder and Younghyun tugged him closer, putting Jae’s head carefully onto the hurt shoulder. The light was turned off and fingers softly weaved through his hair, and Jae felt comfort and relief in the small gesture. He let go of the crucifix to wind his arms around Younghyun’s mid, inhaling his scent and basking in the other’s warmth.

“I’m sorry,” Younghyun softly broke the silence with a whisper spoken directly into Jae’s hair, followed by a light kiss pressed into it. “I won’t lose sight of you ever again.”

Jae nuzzled deeper into Younghyun’s neck, tugging him closer. Closing his eyes, he let the moment wash over him, sort of enjoying the silence now.

“Thank you.”

_For so many things left unsaid, thank you for hiding my embarrassment from our friends, for taking care of me instead of laughing, for giving me the comfort I needed so much right now._

“Thank you.”

~~~

“Ready when you are.”

Sitting in a closet for a while wasn’t any good for your body. Jae felt the ache in his backside and legs, but they were still very much paralyzed out of fear. Younghyun waited patiently for them to leave by just sitting there and staring to the front.

“What about Susan?” Younghyun cocked his head and smiled confused at Jae’s question. At least they had turned the light on again so that Jae could see the small smile that was a bit too cute in this situation. “Susan’s still out there and trying to get me,” Jae explained further, gulping at the memory of an angry ghost. “She said she wanted to play with me…”

He saw how Younghyun took a breath to answer and then changed his mind. “Well, Susan’s not here anymore. At least I haven’t seen her when I found you.”

Jae buried his face into his hands in desperation. Right, Younghyun was only entertaining him because Jae was scared out of his mind and Younghyun didn’t believe in ghosts. If only he could prove him otherwise. The problem, though, was simple. Jae didn’t want to meet Susan ever again.

“This was such a bad idea,” Jae moaned again, eliciting a chuckle out of Younghyun, the acoustic version of a small silver of light in this shitty situation. “Promise me to never bring me to a ghost hunt again.”

“Alright,” Younghyun easily agreed with amusement written all over his features. What then happened took away Jae’s breath in a good way, his mouth open in surprise. Younghyun ducked down his head and smiled shyly before he intertwined their fingers, squeezing his hand lightly before holding it comfortably and carefully so. “Let’s get you out of here first, okay?”

This time when the closet door creaked, Jae wasn’t scared. All that mattered were his eyes on Younghyun to drink in his smile and eyes, both a different kind of light than the one shining from his flashlight. Younghyun didn’t let go of his hand even after he tugged Jae up, not when they started walking through the room, not when they wandered down the halls. Only when Jae’s face hit the cold and fresh air from outside of the house did their fingers lose each other. His joints were aching and cracking from sitting for too long in the closet, and he was so ready to finally go home.

“This is so much better than the asylum,” Jae commented on the smell, a fresh breeze of cold night air hitting his nose and freeing him of the smell of mold and something rotten. “I am so ready to leave.”

Younghyun looked sympathetic to him, his smile small with sorry. “We have to do a few last things before we go home.”

“You’re kidding me, right?” Jae whined against Younghyun, leaning into his side to dramatically slide down in hopes that Younghyun would put his arms around him again. “My back isn’t made for ghost hunts.”

“Your back isn’t made for hiding in a closet for too long.”

“At least we got out of it, huh?” When Jae added a wink to his small but meaningful insinuation, a huge grin slowly broke out on Younghyun’s face that came closer and closer before he then shoved Jae playfully away and made his way over to the van. No answer left his lips, another thing unsaid but pretty much heard by the person that counted the most, especially with the kiss that had been left on the corner of Jae’s smiling lips.

When the door behind him suddenly creaked, Jae followed Younghyun over to the van with hurried steps and felt relieved when he found all of his friends there unscathed.

“Oh, you aren’t dead?” Jae’s head whipped to Dowoon who had the audacity to look disappointed. Dowoon pressed a few bucks into Sungjin’s hand, who looked too smug for someone who was this short of meeting an angry ghost.

“Fuck you,” was Jae’s intelligent answer as he made his way to the front to plop down into one of the seats and occupy the row with his long body. He didn’t care at this point. He wanted this day to be over with. Yet, he still turned his head so he could see the group through the slits between the seats.

“Okay, what proofs did you guys gather?” Sungjin bellowed once the doors had been closed and some strange half circle formed in front of the whiteboard.

“I got an EMF level of 5.” Wonpil held up that strange colorful device with a proud smile. “But it was strange because the level peaked in the ghost room but then was suddenly at zero.”

“Ah, that was when a chair was thrown at me,” Younghyun informed then with his hand massaging his shoulder, the very one Jae had leaned on while crying again. Guilt clawed his way over in his chest, but there wasn’t much that Jae could do about it now.

“Well,” Dowoon only shrugged and crossed out something on the board. “It was cold in there but not freezing.”

“Oh, you can cross out fingerprints, too,” Younghyun piped in again, nodding at one point on the dashboard. “What about ghost writing?”

Jae’s eyes followed Sungjin who took out a book from his backpack along with a camera. A blinking red dot blinded Jae for a moment and stirred up something familiar in his mind. The camera was safely put on the table. Sungjin opened the book to the page he bookmarked, smiling at the pentagram and smeared words written in there.

“Wow, it looks like someone wrote in there,” Dowoon exclaimed with dripping sarcasm, chuckling to himself when he ticked off ‘ghost writing’ from the list. That smile vanished rather quickly when Wonpil stepped forward to the book, his eyes squinting as he tried to read the message.

“Let’s play—” he started to read but then stopped. They all looked at Wonpil who straightened again and turned to Jae with a frown on his face. “Why is your name written in there?”

“Wait, what?!”

Within a second everyone stood around Sungjin to get a peek at the book, eyes wide at Jae’s name written in a crawly and deep red note. A shudder ran along Jae’s spine and his heart was suddenly beating in his throat again. He was so done with this, so, so, so very much done.

“Ha ha, you’re fucking with me, right?” Jae accused them hesitantly and tried to laugh, one that didn’t come out when all he got were disbelieving gazes as an answer. “Please tell me you’re only fucking with me!”

“I swear, I didn’t write it.” Wonpil immediately held his hands up in innocence while Younghyun shook his head because he knew that Jae knew. Dowoon and Sungjin looked at each other, a silent battle that Jae hoped would come to an end very soon.

“It was just a joke,” Sungjin laughed not very convincingly, as if he himself was unsure of what to make out of this. And maybe he was right, some things were better left unknown. “Let’s just look at the camera for a ghost orb.”

While Sungjin plugged the camera into the workstation, Jae’s and Younghyun’s eyes met in a different kind of battle, where Jae pleaded to get an answer that Younghyun couldn’t give him. Dowoon, meanwhile, turned around to the board, reading the next thing on the list.

“What about the spirit box?”

“Spirit box?” Jae looked away from Younghyun to Dowoon. “I had the spirit box.” As if Jae could ever forget that.

“Did you get any sign or answer?” Dowoon prompted him with an encouraging smile. That, too, fell once he saw Jae’s scared expression – wide eyes, trembling lips, cold sweat under his nose. “Did you, Jae?”

“I—” He inhaled sharply at the ghost’s voice ingrained into his mind. Susan would surely haunt him to the end of his days. “Yes. She talked to me.”

What was it today with the silences, Jae mulled while he got stared at.

“Run that by me again?” Sungjin asked slowly as if he couldn’t exactly comprehend what Jae had said. “You got a sign from the spirit box?”

“…yes?” Wasn’t this the point of the spirit box? That he would get an answer from a ghost? Oh, right, they didn’t believe in any ghosts. “Susan talked to me before she threw chairs at me.”

“Okay, that’s enough. You really believe that ghosts exist?” Wonpil rested his hand against Jae’s shoulder, cocking his head in worry. “You know that they don’t? That the devices are picking up on other things than ghost activities?”

“But how would you explain that Younghyun got attacked by a chair?” Jae exclaimed upset. After all he had gone through, they didn’t believe him? What else did he need to make them believe, a photo of that ghost? And suddenly, Jae had an idea. “Wait, the camera! It was in the bedroom, right? The one with the dolls and wallpapers?” A red blinking dot that had caught his eyes, the very same of that camera.

“You were in the ghost room?” Sungjin retorted in wonder while he rewound the footage.

“I guess?” He shook his head, leaning forward to the screen to look at the room. “Yes, that’s where I was with Susan when she attacked me.”

Jae suddenly was squeezed between Dowoon and Younghyun’s shoulders, all surrounding the screen to watch the scene unfold with their own eyes. There was Jae with his flashlight entering the room and the door suddenly closed behind him. Jae felt the embarrassment creeping up on his neck when he looked at his own panicked face, so clear in the night vision camera. All brows except for Jae’s furrowed when things were suddenly moving for no actual reason. Sungjin stopped the footage.

“Okay, maybe that was the wind. There’s a window, right? And no ghost.” He looked from one face to another, hesitation written on all of them.

“Isn’t that Younghyun’s camera?” Dowoon suddenly pointed at the screen where Jae was hovering in front of his backpack and trying to get the crucifix out of it. And indeed, there was the camera that Younghyun had put into his bag before they walked into the asylum, the very one they both had forgotten about.

“Please tell me you have my backpack.”

Wonpil nodded and walked over to where Jae’s backpack was leaning against the wall, wafting through it until he found the camera with a small huff of victory. They all watched him looking through it, going through pictures that Jae didn’t know had been taken, their breath suddenly caught in their lungs when Wonpil’s face fell.

“What the actual—”

Younghyun ripped the camera out of his hands and looked at the picture himself. Jae grunted in excitement when he saw the picture. A shadow floated over the backpack exact the moment when Jae had thrown his it onto the floor.

“That’s Susan!” he yelled a tad too loud before he realized. “Fuck, that’s Susan!”

One minute of looking at each other passed in silence before they all suddenly scrambled into their seats and Sungjin ignited the motor, taking off into the night to make it as far away as possible from the asylum.

At least they got 200 dollars each at the end of the night.

~~~

(“Maybe it’s because you called her babygirl.”

“What?”

“That she attacked you. Because you called her babygirl. And then you called me that, too.”

“You think Susan got jealous? Of you?”

Silence. A sudden hit.

“Ouch, what was that for?”

A pout. A smile in answer. A chuckle that replaced the pout.

“Just go to sleep, Jae.”

“Mmmh, you started it but alright. Good night, babygirl.”

“Jae!”

“Younghyun.”

Another pout. This time, a kiss to make it a smile again.)

_The End_

**Author's Note:**

> Can you guess what kind of ghost Susan Harris is? 👀
> 
> Shout at me on twitter if you want to: [ordernchaos2](https://twitter.com/ordernchaos2)


End file.
